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BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle pilot, Antron Brown, won for the second time this season here Sunday in the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR).
In Top Fuel, U.S. Army driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher advanced to his fifth straight final, but lost to Brandon Bernstein.
In other action, Brown's U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle teammate, Angelle Sampey, was disqualified for a being under weight after a first round win.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Once Brown disposed of Steve Johnson in the final round with a 7.108-second pass at 186.85 mph, he moved back into the point lead for the first time since he won at Atlanta in May. He now leads Andrew Hines by 15 points.
"It's definitely a wonderful feeling (to lead the points again)," he said. "But, I really wanted to win this race regardless of the standings situation. You might recall that I gave away a sure win in Sonoma, Calif. two weeks ago. I needed to bounce back in a big way, especially, for our soldiers. I owed them a victory."
This was the fourth win at BIR for Brown in his career.
Sampey took care of Ryan Schnitz in the opening round of eliminations with a solid 7.120-second pass at 187.03 mph, but she failed to pass the NHRA's post-race minimum weight requirement (615 pounds) on the way back to the pits and her run was thrown out.
The loss for Sampey, who came into the race second in the standings, was especially costly as the point leader, Andrew Hines, fouled out in his first round race.
"The window of opportunity was open as far as the points were concerned, but it just slammed down on me," she said. "It's tough to take this, I have to tell you. It's so hard to explain the fact that before the race we were spot on with the weight and then we came up five pounds short afterwards.
"I'm just going to have to put this out of my mind and start thinking about Memphis next weekend. With five races to go (in the Pro Stock Motorcycle season), there's certainly time for me to rebound."
Sampey now holds fourth-place in the standings, 51 points removed from Brown.
Top Fuel
After earning his eighth pole of the season, Schumacher was running "on rails" until the final round when he smoked the tires against Bernstein.
Schumacher did manage to beat point leader, Doug Kalitta, in the second round to further cut into his lead. He's now tied for second with teammate, Melanie Troxel. They're both 81 points in back of Kalitta.
"As always, when you get to the finals, you clearly want to finish the deal," said Schumacher. "But, we did get some more points back and that's important. It appears like it's going to be an exciting finish to this season."
In six races, Schumacher has sliced 255 points off the lead. He's also moved up five spots in the standings.
"We're going to keep plowing away at this thing," he said.
Next weekend Schumacher, Sampey and Brown all head to Memphis Motorsports Park for the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals.
Brown Wins, Reclaims Points Lead
Schumacher Loses in Finals; Sampey Disqualified After First Round Win
BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle pilot, Antron Brown, won for the second time this season here Sunday in the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR).
In Top Fuel, U.S. Army driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher advanced to his fifth straight final, but lost to Brandon Bernstein.
In other action, Brown's U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle teammate, Angelle Sampey, was disqualified for a being under weight after a first round win.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Once Brown disposed of Steve Johnson in the final round with a 7.108-second pass at 186.85 mph, he moved back into the point lead for the first time since he won at Atlanta in May. He now leads Andrew Hines by 15 points.
"It's definitely a wonderful feeling (to lead the points again)," he said. "But, I really wanted to win this race regardless of the standings situation. You might recall that I gave away a sure win in Sonoma, Calif. two weeks ago. I needed to bounce back in a big way, especially, for our soldiers. I owed them a victory."
This was the fourth win at BIR for Brown in his career.
Sampey took care of Ryan Schnitz in the opening round of eliminations with a solid 7.120-second pass at 187.03 mph, but she failed to pass the NHRA's post-race minimum weight requirement (615 pounds) on the way back to the pits and her run was thrown out.
The loss for Sampey, who came into the race second in the standings, was especially costly as the point leader, Andrew Hines, fouled out in his first round race.
"The window of opportunity was open as far as the points were concerned, but it just slammed down on me," she said. "It's tough to take this, I have to tell you. It's so hard to explain the fact that before the race we were spot on with the weight and then we came up five pounds short afterwards.
"I'm just going to have to put this out of my mind and start thinking about Memphis next weekend. With five races to go (in the Pro Stock Motorcycle season), there's certainly time for me to rebound."
Sampey now holds fourth-place in the standings, 51 points removed from Brown.
Top Fuel
After earning his eighth pole of the season, Schumacher was running "on rails" until the final round when he smoked the tires against Bernstein.
Schumacher did manage to beat point leader, Doug Kalitta, in the second round to further cut into his lead. He's now tied for second with teammate, Melanie Troxel. They're both 81 points in back of Kalitta.
"As always, when you get to the finals, you clearly want to finish the deal," said Schumacher. "But, we did get some more points back and that's important. It appears like it's going to be an exciting finish to this season."
In six races, Schumacher has sliced 255 points off the lead. He's also moved up five spots in the standings.
"We're going to keep plowing away at this thing," he said.
Next weekend Schumacher, Sampey and Brown all head to Memphis Motorsports Park for the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals.
